Photo by Diane Lederman / The RepublicanSona Andrews, one of four candidates for the UMass chancellor's position, listens to a question posed at a campus meeting Thursday.

AMHERST – The last candidate for chancellor of the University of Massachusetts campus here believes that she offers a systemwide perspective on how “it can work efficiently…how it can be changed.”

Sona Andrews is the current vice chancellor for academic strategies for the Oregon University system and is involved in cross-system planning. Before that, she was provost and vice president for academic affairs at Boise State University.

Andrews is the fourth candidate to come to campus this week. Carlos E. Santiago, the current chief executive officer of Hispanic College Fund in Washington and former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, met with campus constituencies Monday. Susan Phillips, the provost and vice president for academic affairs, at the University at Albany, State University of New York, visited Tuesday and Kumble R. Subbaswamy the provost at the University of Kentucky visited Wednesday.

All followed the same campus meeting schedule and have been meeting with UMass President Robert L. Caret off campus.

Those from campus who have been attending the various sessions have been asked to fill out evaluation forms by Friday. He could make a decision soon. The Board of Trustees would have to approve his recommendation. Current chancellor Robert C. Holub is leaving at the end of the academic year.

She said UMass has a vision but “you can have a vision and no one knows what that is.” She believes a chancellor needs “to make it real (and show) what does it look like to be a top 20 school.”
Andrews also said, “you need a chancellor who has a great sense of urgency. You need things to happen now and they have to happen fast.” In an interview later she explained, “we have seen the erosion of state funding that has chipped away (at what the university can do.) We need to stop the downward trend” before conditions become worse.

She said the university needs to bring in more resources. “You can’t keep asking people to do more with less.” And she “we need to be able to provide support for faculty.” That includes hiring.

At Boise State University, she was involved in fund-raising. “I like it, I like people.”
She said she wants to get donors excited about giving and targeting how their money could be used. This way they can see the benefit of their gifts.

When it comes to diversifying the campus she said it’s more than numbers. “It’s about inclusiveness.” Students and faculty have to feel a part of the campus or they will leave.

She like the other candidates talked about the need for the UMass system to collaborate to create a strong system.

“When you’re the biggest, you don’t have to flex your muscles. You have the advantage.”
Andrews, 58, said she is “someone who doesn’t get discouraged very easily or stay discouraged for a very long time.”

She said she was seeking the position because it is the right time and place.

Born in Providence, she earned her undergraduate degree in geography from Worcester State College so she would be returning to New England. And she said, “I wouldn’t have been a good leader 10 years ago.” She’s excited about the possibility of leading the campus and said “there’s an excitement (on campus) about getting a new leader.”